As we walked down the hall, I couldn’t help but take a photo of the hallway.  It just looked so cool to me!  Kinda reminded me of a movie……hmmmm……

We open the door to our room and see two big fluffy queen size beds and the usual fixins.  Lots of pillows, sleek TV, plenty of plugins, and a thermostat on the wall, yay!  The beds were comfortable I thought. I know a lot of people don’t sleep as well when they travel but man, I slept good and usually do.

Bathroom was nice and my friend Vicki noticed the washcloth in the shape of a fan on the toilet.  She loved that little touch and I agree, the little things are very nice!

One of the first things that we Vicki had to call down for was a toothbrush.  She had forgotten hers and while I could have offered mine I reckon, I highly doubt she would have wanted to share!! Sure enough, they had one for us and when we were leaving to the conference, he immediately recognized us and said, “Okay, which one of you needed the toothbrush?”, of course he said with that fabulous grin of his.  Oh! They had cool touchscreens up so that we could find places to eat, comedy clubs, etc that were close to our Holiday Inn location.  That was pretty cool!

Overall, we give the hotel two thumbs up.  We loved the location, decor, comfy beds & pillows, friendly staff, and the fact that they had a toothbrush ready and waiting.  I don’t think there was one thing we didn’t like in fact.  Our needs were met, we were very comfortable, slept good, and came back to clean rooms.  While those others leave the lights on for you, that’s about all they do.  Give Holiday Inn a try next time and get the pampered feel without the cost.  They are great, quality hotels!

Disclosure: Holiday Inn provided two nights stay for me and my friends on our trip to see Joyce Meyer.  All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. We’ve stayed in them many times and love them.  My dad has earned tons of free nights with them because of all his stays during travel.  You’ll like them! 

Upon arrival, I inspected the color and inside.  I immediately fell in love with the middle row bucket seats and all the room in it.  It had a mini van feel without looking like a mom in the minivan.  My biggest concern would be whether or not it would fit our luggage and while it was a tight fit, we did have room for it all. There’s even some ‘hidden’ storage that I was able to fit books, a bag, and baby wipes to be donated.

Love the controls.  Truett was able to control the DVD player and switch to music while wearing the headphones.  The ladies who rode in back were able to adjust the climate.  For 6+ hour road trips, I’d totally let the kids bring their game system to play since you can actually plug it in!  COOLIO!

Lots of room and easy to get in and out of.

FEATURES WE LOVED:

• Push button to open back.  Push button was on the back, as well as inside.
• All the cup holders!
• Jacks and plug and being able to control climate from back.
• Bose sound system
• Gas mileage – We drove 4 hrs (wind was with us) and it only took a 1/4 of a tank.  It cost me $75 to fill up but we didn’t even fill up until we were leaving Arlington to come back home!  GREAT ON GAS!
• LOTS of room, even for the 6ft woman who reviews well but can’t focus a camera.
• Comfortable – Seat were great and comfy and loved the coolers and warmers in them.
• Fits 6 comfortably but will hold 7.

And just for kicks, check out quick experience with Onstar (sorta), our laughter, and awesome, unfocused look at the inside features because that’s how we roll.  We totally rocked this Traverse!!!! Thank you ladies for sharing this experience with me. It was a blast!

Disclosure: GM provided the vehicle for our trip to the conference in return for us sharing our experience.  All opinions are my own, as always.

First, I want to tell you that Walmart does not pay the entertainers that come to perform.  Obviously Walmart sells their cds and dvds so perhaps this is a way for the talent to “pay it forward” if you will.  I think a lot of folks assume that they are paid…..and you’d think  so when they get Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas, and Will Smith but nope.

Speaking of Will Smith…….He thought it would be fun to hop down into the audience and meet folks. He made a big circle around our section and touched my arm.  That’s right….HE TOUCHED MY ARM!!!!  He was standing next to me for a minute or so and even gave my blogging friend Tina a high five!! It was pretty awesome if I do say so myself.  Okay, enough about that.

Throughout the meeting, there were financial talks, discussion about Walmart’s current initiatives, and more entertainment in-between.   I always love to hear everyone speak, including THE Mike Duke, President and CEO of Walmart, who I had the pleasure to talk with last year.   One of the things he talked about was social media.  I found the quote….

“We are right in the sweet spot of the ‘next-generation’ customer…They’re connected to the world through smart phones and social media. … They’re in charge of when they shop and how they shop. They know who has the lowest prices. But to succeed, we must also be the best at how we run our business,” Duke said.

Social media has had such a big impact and I think that knowing we can find a low price instantly, will push them to make their prices even lower.  I hope so anyways.  Social media rocks!! Me and my fellow Walmart Moms!

It’s always a learning experience when I attend these because I hear about their sustainable efforts, investments, ways their helping the communities but as I mentioned earlier, what I really love is hearing about outstanding associates. Those that go above and beyond and proud of their job, heck, of having a job and show it every single day that are at work.  Last year I cried during the actual shareholders meeting.  This year I cried during the Saturday morning meeting. I got to hear about the Joplin community and it was absolutely heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. To see what the Walmart managers did in that area just makes my heart swell.  It’s great to see everyone come together and help each other.

To break up the business aspects of the meeting, they had some more amazing talent like Alicia Keys.  WOW…her voice is so strong and amazing!!  I’d kill to have her thighs and booty too..just sayin’.

Of course the American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery made an appearance and he really worked the crowd.  I thought he went a little overboard but he was workin’ so I give him that.  He’s actually really cute too. I loved his distressed boots!!  They rocked and looked like they had been worn for a couple of years.

And then no meeting would be complete without an amazing finish right?  CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP FOR THE BLACK EYED PEAS!!!!!!!!

They totally worked the crowd and rocked the stage!  I really enjoyed them a great deal and Fergie looked amazing!!  LOVED this performance!

It’s always an awesome experience and not just the entertainment. I truly do enjoy learning more about the company and hope I get the opportunity to attend next year.  Just wish I could take my son!!

Part two coming soon….I’m in the Visitor’s Center!!!!

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms as we share our experiences and ideas! Walmart provided our travel to the shareholders meeting in Bentoville, however, this post is not compensated. I wanted to blog about it all!! My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

I received my Paris Epiphanie camera bag and let  me just say, it’s HUGE and that’s exactly what I wanted.  It holds everything and is a nice looking bag as well.

When I travel, I make sure that all my electonics are with me at all times so it’s important for me to have a good bag.  Since my Paris bag is a camera bag, it’s all padded and holds my camera and lenses beautifully. It also holds my 13″ Macbook Air, iPad, iPod, wallet, magazines, mouse, charging cords, and bag full of goodies that I’ll need.

In my special goody bag, I carry Excedrin, Extra Fruit Sensations (I buy the big pack at Walmart-it’s my fave), a Sharpie, Propel packets, lipstick, and more.  It’s usually just little things that get me through the day.  I also try to keep some kind of bars to eat to avoid wasting money at airports and such.  I really really love the Cranberry Crunch Bars.  The ingredient list is all organic and the flavor and texture rawked!  I felt so satisfied after eating a bar.  I’ll be keeping some of these in my bag for the trip during CES. I’m sure I’ll be getting hungry in between meetups and events.

My most favorite thing to have when I travel is my iPod.  I love to listen to music and zone everything else out.  I have two playlists that I listen to most. One is easy listening when I want to relax and the other gets me pumped and moving and is the one I listen to during workouts.  I’m sure you can figure out which is which;)  What’s on your iPod?

So when you travel, what are some of your favorite things to pack in your purse or carry-on bag?

Well, we are going to Mexico again but by choice this time around it’s all thanks to Villa Group Resorts, who will be providing me and my husband an all-inclusive trip (<–disclosure).  I’ve actually been offered the chance to go to Mexico a few times but without my husband (from another company) but that’s not something I have been willing to do, at least right now.  He makes me feel safe and in a place that I’m not familiar with, that’s a good feeling to have; not to mention he’s Spanish.

There are three choices for us and I’d like to hear your thoughts on it.  And, perhaps you’ll decide to join us eh?  Wouldn’t it be fun to be there at the same time?? I know, wishful thinking I reckon but still…it would be cool.  Anyways, here is the first resort.

1) La Estancia Nuevo Vallarta

2) Cabo San Lucas – Villa de Palmar

3) Puerto Vallarta – Garza Blanca

You’d have to go read about them to know details but would appreciate anything you have to offer. Maybe you’ve been to one of them?  They all look fabulous, one more family oriented than the others, but I have a feeling that no matter which one we choose, we have a wonderful FIRST honeymoon. We’ve been married over 17 years and this would be our first.   Our honeymoon night was spent at a hotel where my husband passed and I drove to my parent’s to watch the big Mike Tyson fight that night, and then next day being spent watching Superbowl Sunday.  I love football but would have preferred something else.  This will just be heavenly. Thank goodness I’m “fixed” or we would likely come back from it and in 9 mths had a baby.

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Also, I would love to hear (if you haven’t ever been to a resort) why you haven’t?  Are there any questions you have that I might can get answered for you?

P.S. All this was offered through RoleMommy!

These photos were from the Wal-Mart Shareholders Meeting that I had the opportunity to attend.  Of course the the entertainment was fabulous but I took much more away from that two days and will talk about that later.  I will say that Jamie Foxx is freakin’ hilarious!!!!  Oh man, he had me cracking up the whole time he was on stage MCing.    We also got to see Sheryl Crow at the Saturday Morning meeting but was unable to take photos.  She has a beautiful voice and I loved her glow.  Very natural and very pretty.  Mariah Carey was….well, Mariah.  Despite how I feel about her, her voice is truly amazing and I loved hearing her sing “Hero”. Mary J Blige was hot and Josh Groban’s voice was amazing!  Lee, the American Idol winner sounded great as well.  Enrique Iglesias…ummmm, do I really need to say anything? HOT! Even Mr. Rollback was there….he’s a very nice man and naturally funny.

I also have video of everyone singing that I’ll try to post later.  Have a great weekend y’all!

(p.s. all photos are mine, taken with my camera)

When I was pregnant with Tyler, we had this old baby blue Chevy pickup.  I hated the baby blue color but no matter where we went and the many miles we traveled, it always got us there.  It never let us down.  Since then, we’ve had several Chevy Pickups; not to say we didn’t have any Fords because we did but we relied on the Chevy brand early on and trusted it throughout our marriage.  We currently have a 2002 Chevy 2500 HD 4-door Pickup that is very comfortable.  It’s a nice truck that has quite a few miles on it but it’s going strong.  It’s paid for, it’s ours.  But, there are times in your life when you want newer things, who doesn’t right?  We’ve been debating on whether or not to trade it in for a loooong time now but can’t decide on the truck we want. After seeing the newer model (below), I’m pretty for sure that we’ll end up upgrading.

I even went outside, in the dark, just to take a quick pic of her for y’all.  Yes, she’s a little dirty but what do you expect with over 6″ of rain lately……..And if you look closely, you’ll see that the driver seat doesn’t have the headrest.  We removed it so that it doesn’t interfere with my man’s cowboy hat!

When GM (Chevy) invited us to the NASCAR races in Ft. Worth, I was beyond excited.  It was a chance to do something with my family and a chance to speak with a brand that we love.   On the evening of our arrival, we had dinner with several of the other folks invited, as well as the PR people and the marketing manager.  Of course there was tons of talk about Chevy but you can leave it up to my husband, to start asking questions, one of them being; “When does the Duramax Diesel come out and how does it compare to the others?”  What I loved, is that he had an answer and what he wasn’t sure about, he actually looked up on his phone right then and there.  I can appreciate that.  The next thing you know my husband was asking about some Allison transmission and this and that….all while I just sat there.  Not sure I ever heard my husband talk so much, to a stranger.  In fact, he talked more than I did.  I was actually quite proud of him.  He was serious by golly and he wanted to know the fine details of the new 2011 Chevy Durmax Diesel HD truck.

From then on, one of the PR gals (Donna) called my husband the “HD Man”…for Heavy Duty Trucks of course.   You see, the people they invited were a diverse group in my opinion which was awesome because even though we were all Texans, we were all still very different in the roles that we play, the life we live.  We represent a huge chunk of folks who depend on their trucks for play and for work so it was a proud moment to be talking about trucks with a brand we believe in.

We had a fantastic time even thought the races got rained out.  We learned a great deal about the company, the trucks, and some of the folks behind the scenes.  But what I really learned, is that they are passionate and it only confirmed what we’ve always known; Chevy ROCKS!   I mean, I do look pretty cool in this one don’t ya think?

We also got to see a sneak peek of the new one and all I could do was ((drool)).  I love that car above but man, there is nothing like a Heavy Duty truck!

What we learned from the marketing manager about the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado Duramax Diesel HD Truck

• PRICE IS THE SAME!  There is no price difference from last year’s and when you see the new changes, you’ll be surprised that there wasn’t.
• Duramax and Allison combo, more powerful and efficient
• 765lb-ft of torque and 397 hp *insert Tim Allen grunt here*
• 11% improved highway fuel economy
• Towing 20,000 lbs
• 5 year/100,000 mile warranty! WOOT!

These are things I remember off the top of my head.

Chevy has already invited us back to the NASCAR races in November and has assured us that we’d have the chance to drive a new truck around for a while in the near future.  We are thrilled of course and my husband?  Well, needless to say, he’s pretty darn excited about it too.  So you see, some things are worth waiting for. I’m happy and proud to have waited for the opportunity to work with a brand we chose long before I ever knew what blogging was.  I look forward to testing one of those suckers out and working with such a great company.

Thanks y’all!

Some places you can find the Chevy folks at:

Team Chevy | GMTexas | ChevyTexan | Chevrolet

I spoke at last year’s conference and was quite happy to NOT speak this year.  I don’t do well speaking in front of folks and of course it was very relaxing to not have any obligations from sponsors.  The location, Opryland (Gaylord) Hotel, was perfect. PLENTY of space, beautiful scenery, and full of helpful employees.  My advice for bloggers next year (if held at the same place) would be to take a roller bag.  It’s a decent little walk from many of the rooms to where the sessions were held.  And that’s not a complaint at all. I LOVED the space in fact.  I felt like  I could breathe, like I could get away if need be.

Wednesday Workshops

The only workshop I attended was the writing one where my girl Arianne was speaking.  I loved the small groups and the personal attention that was given because it was a small group.  I loved the conversation and of course, the writing assignment.  Something so simple even showed me that I had emotion in the simplest of sentences once I investigated. My only complaint was price which is why I didn’t get into other workshops.  I’d really like to see it go down per workshop next year but the concept should absolutely stay.

Opening Speaker

The opening speaker was Kevin Carroll.  Oh.my.gosh.  THIS was the highlight of the conference for me.  Kevin brought out more emotion in me with his story that it literally took me a good 30 minutes to quit crying.  His story is phenomenal and he himself is an absolute delight.  I can honestly say that I was truly jealous of those women who got the boxes filled with his goodies and of those who got a red ball.  If you don’t know his story, you should absolutely take the time to get his books or better yet, find out where he’ll be speaking at and go there and listen to his amazing journey through life.  When I met him later on that day, he was so kind.  I started to cry when we started talking about an emotional subject and he was comforting, encouraging, and made me feel deserving of things I  often push away from that feeling of unworthiness.  What a special man he is.

Sessions

I attended several sessions.  They all went well in my opinion.  As a seasoned blogger(gawd I feel old), I don’t know that I actually took anything new away from the sessions I attended because I can honestly say that I had the thoughts “I could be on that panel”.  I do think they were very informative for many bloggers though and all the speakers I witnessed did an outstanding job on their panel.

The “nightlife”, food, and swag

The evenings were very enjoyable.  The cocktail party, Harry and casual Saturday evening were wonderful with the Saturday evening being my favorite. I LOVED that they had a movie to watch, a CANDY BAR, plenty of snacks and drinks, karaoke and of course the cool Hanes swag.  Speaking of swag…..I thought the swag was great. Not too much, not too little.  It was all great stuff in great bags of course.  I really loved getting the little package before blissdom with coupons, etc.  What a nice surprise!  The food was great in my opinion.  No complaints at all.

Overall, I had such a grand time with my girlfriends (something I truly needed) and thoroughly enjoyed the conference. I networked, I danced, I laughed, I cried……..all were blissful emotions.

QUALITY

Unfortunately I think that too many people think that the products that are in these two stores are rejects of some sort BUT THE FACT IS, they are not.  Over 95% of what comes to these stores are FIRST quality like you would buy in finer department stores.

WHERE and WHEN

Do you ever notice how most stores get things in seasonally??  Well not TJ Maxx and Marshalls.  Nope, they get stuff in WEEKLY, insuring that you are getting the latest, hottest trends regularly.  These guys send buyers all over the world (60 countries and thousands of vendors) to bring you the latest fashions.  Huge buying power and it totally sets them apart from others.

COUPONS & SALES

You won’t find them at these stores and in all honestly, there’s no need for it. They already bring you rock bottom prices that are many times, un-freakin’-believable!

Which leads me to one of the games…….

After hearing about the company and how they purchase–etc, we were asked to play a game.  They showed you an item that can be bought in their stores.  You were told how much it would cost in a regular department store and then asked to write down what the TJ Maxx/Marshall’s price was.  Fun huh?? I loved it!  The folks that came closes got their name put into a hat where the winner drawn would win that prize we were determining the price of!  Soo much fun to play and I learned quickly how low the prices were.  Seriously.  I was wrong every time because I was pricing too high.  The final prize???  A Gucci handbag.  ((drool))  I’m sure many of you know what a handbag junkie I am so I wanted to win badly.  The price paid in the high end store??  Over $2,000.   The price paid if bought at TJ Maxx/Marshalls??  $599. OMG, I died  because everything else had been much lower than I thought with the other prices, I went too low. Sadly, I did not win it but was excited for the gal that did.  She hugged it and wouldn’t let it out of her site. Good thing too ’cause I was ready to sneakingly shove it my swag bag.

The point is, we played a super fun game but at the same time, learned all about the off-pricing and just what kind of deals you can get by shopping at these two fine stores.  THAT was my favorite part–Learning mixed with Fun.

HEELLLLOOOOOO EIGHTIES!

Tell me that you didn’t have an outfit like that in your closet!!  You know you did and heck, if you still have it, you’re SOOO gonna be stylin’!  How adorable are those looks??  They brought out some of the cutest fashions ever from Kenneth Cole to Nike and I have to say, they were all WAY under budget compared to what you would pay for them in a regular specialty/dept store.  And you see all those books and toys? Well they’re gonna have even more in their stores. I had no idea that the books were such a hot deal but Alli kept going on and on about it so now I have to check that out. I normally run to the handbag section. heehee

You absolutely MUST get your back to school fashions here, especially if you wanna save some  MEGA BUCKS!  I’m envious of those who get to shop their regularly. Mine is 2hrs away but lemme tell ya, I’d be in there every week to see what’s new.   I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it and I hope you know that.  I freakin’ love these stores!

The event was one of the best.  I had fun, I learned, and I had some memorable 1am girl time with a few lovely ladies.  I met so many other great folks while I was there and since Susan linked their twitter handles, I’ll copy and paste hers. Hopefully she won’t mind!

@gograhamgo, @fashionablegal, @acowboyswife, @petit_elefant, @onechicmama, @alliworthington, @ADramaticMommy,@audreymcclellan, @bostonmamas, @5minutesformom, @susancarraretto, @mommieswithcent, @stacieinatlanta, @akblessings, @jentifa, @3PsinaPod, @mommygoggles, @busymomblog, @jodigrundig, @mindicherry

And  two of the very kind & lovely PR folks holding the event – @sdefino and @happysquid.

One last note…. SAVE THE CHILDREN

Something awesome that T.J. Maxx is doing is helping save the children and you can help too!

Beginning on August 3, all T.J. Maxx stores will carry limited edition reusable shopping bags for $0.99. The bags are designed with Save the Children original children’s artwork, and for each bag purchased, T.J. Maxx will donate one basic item such as; socks, underwear and backpacks to Save the Children’s U.S. programs, up to 25,000 items. This initiative marks 25 years of partnership for T.J. Maxx and Save the Children.

Even Jennie Garth took part by buying one of the reuseable shopping bags!

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For over 75 years, Save the Children has been helping children survive and thrive by improving their health, education and economic opportunities and, in times of acute crisis, mobilizing rapid life-saving assistance to help children recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters. It is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, comprising 27 national, independent Save the Children organizations working in more than 120 countries to ensure the well-being of children.

Thanks so much for an awesome time guys!

(stolen pic)

P.S.  A HUGE thank you to JO-LYNNE for loaning me the extra cash to buy my beautiful leather Bob Makowsky handbag. I had left my wallet at the room but she saved the day for me!!  MWAH!

The amount of folks that showed up for the Blogher Conference was absolutely amazing.  The sad thing is that there are so many people you meet that it’s almost impossible to remember everyone’s name and even face for that matter.  Like everyone else, I was hoping to meet those that I admire and as many as I could that read my blogs.  And I did.

Wednesday Night

We hit the Sushi Samba party first.  Great folks, nice atmosphere, and a fun photo booth. You can see me, Arianne, Allison, and Audrey having a bit of fun in these photos.

Thursday

This was Blogher Business day but I’ll cut to the fun evening stuff.  The SocialLuxe Lounge was a whole lotta fun.  They handed out awards, I met very nice PR folks from Land’s End, Kodak (and others) and of course all the talk was on the swag because Kodak was generous enough to hand out the cool Z16 Pocket Video Camera.  Sadly, there were some really childish, desperate people that were stealing the bracelets that got you a bag of swag, leaving those who were supposed to get a swag bag, without.  Good gawd that is so pathetic.

Here are a couple of pics from that event.  The three princess fairys are The Bloggess, White Trash Mom, and Redneck Mommy.  Below these girls is Christine who got a cool piece of artwork on her arm. The last photo is of some hot girls with Chris Mann.

I attended the Carnivale Cocktail Party hosted by Frito Lay/Woman’s World and I had a great time.  Delicious appetizers and great gals!  Mommysnacks even won a Blogher 10′ pass!!  WOOT!

After all this was the People’s Party which way too busy for me.  I literally walked in, made a circle, and walked right back out.  Looks like it was a great time but by that time, I was so tired and just wanted to hang out in a more quiet place in my pj’s and I almost got to.  Instead, I hung out with Amy from Mom Advice and White Trash Mom in the Chi bar.  It was a relaxing conversation and it was so nice to get to chat with Amy, who I rarely get to see.   After Michelle left, Alyssa showed up and chatted with us a bit.  Both are the nicest ladies ever.

FRIDAY

Had a wonderful breakfast with Food Network’s Dave Lieberman and the Walmart Eleven Moms.

Friday was one of the craziest days to say the least.  Finally got to browse the exhibition hall where all the vendors were and had a great time doing that.  I met some of the PR folks I work with, which was great to see them face to face.  I also met so many new ones that I hope to work with like PlaySkool.  And for those of you who were there, tell me that Dinosaur was not the coolest thing ever!

Attended a more intimate get-together with Hanes Comfort Crew.  I loved that they only invited a few so that we could actually talk and have a more personable experience.  Really enjoyed it!

Had to move right along to the Energizer Party where I didn’t even get to see the lovely Colleen (who was one of the hosts) because she was getting her hands done but I did get to meet the Energizer Bunny.  You know you’re jealous.

Immediately headed to the E.L.F. where we met Ted who is very passionate about E.L.F. Cosmetics and should be.  I have to say, I’ve always been a Bare Escentuals fan but might just be converted.  I still need to play with some of the cosmetics to know for sure but when you calculate the cost, you will save HUGE amounts of money with the E.L.F. line.  I got my makeup done too!

The big thing for me was the Nikon Party.  I heart Nikon as most of you who read me regularly will know.  The cool thing at this party though was getting to meet and interview Carson Kressley.  He was so real, very “normal” and very stylish.

Some of the nice folks I met at the Nikon Party included Jaden from Steamy Kitchen, who has taught me so much on improving my food photos.  Love her and actually met her earlier than this but didn’t get my pic with her.  Also there was Ree, The Pioneer Woman, who is VERY tall.

I left a bit earlier than most because I was exhausted and my feet were hurting so bad that I was almost in tears. Seriously.  They were so freakin’ cute shoes but good lord my feet were not happy campers.  Went back to the hotel, got in my pj’s and hung out.

SATURDAY

Had to get up super early for a video/photo shoot then attended a lunch with Tide.   Loved the demonstration they did with cleaning the grass stain and enjoyed the meal a great deal.  Gymboree brought some super cute outfits for us to see as well.  I love Gymboree because they always have the cutest cowboy outfits.  You know, I brought little man home in a cute cowboy newborn set from them.  ADORABLE. Also had the chance to visit with with the Tide folks later that afternoon and meet with Tim Gunn from Project Runway.  Very classy and very nice man.

The highlight on Saturday for me was meeting the lovely Paula Deen.  Wow is she beautiful.  If you don’t know her life story, you should go read about her.  Her cooking is fabulous and all but her life story is absolutely inspiring.

Bowlher was the last of the party events I attended and it was definitely one of the best. Open space to dance, bowl, play pool, and just sit down and visit.  Here’s several photos from that evening.

Loved meeting everyone and wish I had met even more.   So much to do & so many to see, so little time.

Alot of fun to say the least.  I know I left a lot but it all happens so fast and there’s so much that I couldn’t possibly remember everything and put it in one post.  I hope all of you who went had a blast and all of you who didn’t get the chance to go, try your hardest to attend the next one because it’s gonna be fab! It’s also going to be in New York and tickets are already on sale NOW!! GOLLY!  Anyone want to sponsor me?? ;)

Thanks so much for Walmart for sending me to Blogher this year.   I appreciate all the hard work they did and the great folks they brought in like Dave and Paula.

Until next time y’all……………………………………